The 40th Festival Mondial de l'Image Sous Marine takes
place from 31 October to 3 November 2013 at Parc Chanot, Marseilles,
France.

The Festival is composed of :

19 contests
75 prices

The Festival lasts 5 days on average in which :

films, slide and slide shows are screened in 3
rooms
prints are exhibited
there are a hundred of stands
for children, discovery games are organised in some stands
conferences take place
the Festival band plays its best pieces of music

Congratulations to Kyle McBurnie who was
the winner of this year's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric
Science's Underwater
Photography Contest, which recognizes amateur photography

Congratulations also to BSoUP Member
Alex Tattersall who came first in the Wide-angle category
with an image of a lion fish and bait fish.

Started in 2005, the contest has grown in popularity,
with over 700 entries submitted this year, according to university
scientist and contest judge Jiangang Luo.

"All the pictures we got were large, and high quality,"
said Luo. "It was a really tough job to narrow it down to a few."

The contest
is open to any photography enthusiast, as long as they earn less than 20
percent of their income taking pictures. This year, entries came from all
over the globe, with submissions from 23 countries. Categories include macro,
wide angle, fish or marine animal portrait, and student work. See RSMAS Underwater Photography Contest

Inon's Z240 and D-2000 E.V. dial
labels

Back in February, Inon launched a poll on their Facebook page for alternative designs for
their Exposure Value (E.V.) dial labels and have just released a new decal
that can be fitted to the E.V. dial that aims to simplify use.

Wetpixel's Adam Hanlon got a sneak
preview of them and wrote a short review.

"The new decal is supplied separately to the strobe
and can simply be stuck over the existing markings. Fitting it is a
straightforward, simple process". "In use, it definitely is simpler than
the old darken and lighten instructions. The scale is easier to read and
compatible (as the pictures show) with cold water accessory knob extenders.
For those of us with eyesight that is not as good as it once was, the new
scale is much clearer and easier to read. I dont usually need corrective
lenses underwater, but have found that the older scales did take some
peering at."

Ross (aka Gudge) and Mary met and started diving together
in 1984 and married two years later. Along with their dog Digger,
they now live in Exmouth, Western Australia and dive regularly on Ningaloo
Reef.

Hans Hass, underwater filmmaker and diving pioneer, died
last weekend aged 94 in Vienna. He was perhaps the original creator of the
niche underwater filmmaking with his 1951 film, Adventure in the Red Sea,
being one of the first films to make the underwater world observable to
all. During his long career, he published 32 books, produced 73 films and
was awarded numerous accolades. His later life has been dedicated to
zoological research, particularly into predation. He was a life-long and
passionate advocate for sharks and devoted much time and effort to correct
the public misconceptions about them. He is survived by his wife and
collaborator Lotte and we send her, his family members and friends our
condolences at what must be a very difficult time. The oceans have lost a
pioneer, advocate and scientist.

Congratulations to Mark Pickford who was
the winner of this month's Focus On Competition with an image of a squid
eating a fish taken at Halmahera with a Nikon D300 and 60mm lens.

Congratulations also to Trevor Rees and
Anthony Holley who came second and third respectively with
images of a Wolf fish eating brittle stars taken at Eyemouth and a Lizard
fish feeding taken at Sangeang, Indonesia.

BSoUP Members only may view all of the entries in the
Competition Slideshow Archive. You will be asked to
login if you have not already done so this session.

Next month's Focus On Competition is
Reflections. Its all about the angle. (OK, and the light,
and the surface, and the subject). The deadline is Sunday 7th July. Please
read the Rules before
entering via the Online Entry Form.

June BSoUP Meeting

The next BSoUP meeting takes place on Wednesday, 19 June
2013 at 7.30 for 8.00 p.m. in Room G.01 in the Royal School of Mines,
Imperial College, South Kensington, London, SW7 5BD (Directions).

New and prospective new members will be welcomed from
7.30 p.m. See Welcome.

Paul Colley showing us how he created
the image that won the February Focus On (Post-production Bonanza)

Focus On - Predation

The competition is now closed. There were a total of 20
entries. BSoUP Members may view all the entries in the Competition Slideshow. You will be prompted to log in if you
have not already done so this session.

Mark Pickford:Alternative
Lighting. Mark will talk about snoots and their applications and will
also will also discuss his use of fluorescence imaging.

Mark has had a lifelong interest in photography, land
photography as well as underwater. He has been diving since 1999 and taking
pictures under water since 2007.He started with a Nikon Coolpix but has
graduated to a Nikon D300 in a Subal housing with Inon strobes. He has had
a number of successes in BSoUP competitions in recent years including
winning the Open Portfolio competition in December 2012.

I was already a keen photographer including natural
history photography when I decided to extend my range into the underwater
world. I learned to dive with the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) because
their standard training included learning skills for all types of sea
conditions. I live in Yorkshire, England.

My first underwater camera was the Sea & Sea MX-10, a
handy and effective little thing. Second was a Nikon F90x in a Subal
Housing with twin Sea & Sea YS90 strobes. Both camera and housing gave
faultless service. I also had a Nikon Nikonos V, its lenses, particularly
the wide angle were superb.
I resisted the change to digital photography but replacing my camera system
and housing was inevitable. And so in December 2007 I left the convenience
and simplicity of film photography behind. Approximately 50% of images
shown on the web site are scanned from 35mm film 'slides'.

My first
digital system was the Nikon D200 also in a Subal housing, with my original
Sea & Sea YS90 strobes. This system also worked perfectly but all too
soon Nikon launched the D300 camera to replace the D200. Thanks to a
conversion kit (not made by Subal) I am able to use the D300 in the Subal
D200 housing. Current lenses that I use underwater are the Nikon 60mm macro
(new type) and Nikon 105mm macro (old type, 22 years old!), a 2x converter
and Tokina 10-17mm DX fish-eye lens. All lens configurations used with
various Subal ports and port extensions. I use a torch fixed to the top of
the housing that is both focus light and dive torch. Strobes and torch are
supported by Ultralight Control System arms.

Adobe releases Lightroom 5

SAN JOSE, Calif. June 10, 2013 - Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE)
today announced the availability of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 for Mac OS
and Windows. The product is available as an individual license or as part
of Adobe Creative Cloud. Designed for both photography enthusiasts and
professionals alike, Lightroom 5 adds critical photo editing capabilities
and creates groundbreaking workflows. Lightroom 5 was initially released as
a free, public beta in April 2013. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 is available
now for immediate download for Adobe Creative Cloud members. Standalone
software is available at Adobe.com and participating retailers for $102.57
or $57.67 for the upgrade. For more detailed information about product
features, upgrade policies, pricing and language versions, please visit
www.adobe.com/go/lightroom.

There will be a late entry period from Monday 15th July
until Sunday 21st July, 2013. Late entry fees will apply. The fourth Epson
International Pano Awards is dedicated to the art of panoramic photography.
Advances in digital photography and software such as PTGui and Adobe
Photoshop has resulted in an explosion in image stitching, especially in
the panoramic format. Panoramic film photography also remains alive and
well.

The Epson International Pano Awards showcases the work of
panoramic photographers worldwide and is the largest competition for
panoramic photography.

The 2013 competition is now open for all professional and
amateur photographers with a record combined prize pool in excess
of US$40,000 including US$8000 cash!Prizes include an Epson Stylus Pro 7900
printer, an Epson Stylus Pro 4900 printer, and an Epson EB-1775 Ultra-slim
Projector! Full details www.thepanoawards.com/

British Underwater Underwater
Championship

Mount Batten Centre, Plymouth, Saturday 6th
July

Win a one-week liveaboard holiday to the Maldives
(excl. flights) for two people, courtesy of Maldives Scuba Tours, and
other great prizes.

The 2013 British Underwater Photography Championships
(Splash-In), organised by the British Society of Underwater Photographers
(BSoUP), will take place on Saturday 6th July at Mount Batten, Plymouth,
Devon. All underwater photographers are invited to participate, whether
they are members of BSoUP or not.

Adobe's recent announcement that everything beyond
Photoshop CS6 will need to be rented as part of its Creative Cloud lineup
has caused a fair amount of disquiet (some of which has been pretty loud),
but Photoshop isn't the only game in town, and never has been.

For over twenty years I've been writing, producing and
directing films for some of the world's leading businesses and government
organisations and have also produced a number of documentaries for
broadcast. Over the years my production company has been lucky enough to
have had our work recognised by top awards at US Film and Video Festivals
and World Media Festivals.

I'm a keen scuba diver - my first SCUBA course was in
1973 and I qualified as a BSAC intructor in 1993 - over the years I've
travelled widely and dived as much as I could, especially in the Far East,
the Red Sea, the Caribbean and the UK.

In 2005 I re-discovered underwater photography after a
long break when my old film camera and I got 'separated' on a dive. It
wasn't until I realised how exciting and liberating digital photography had
become that I decided to return to underwater photography.

Nowadays Gill, my very patient wife and diving partner,
and I are increasingly spending our time in the Far East accompanied, of
course, by our dive gear an 'stills cameras.

There are very few things I would rather do than
photograph the underwater world and its wonderful variety of marine life. I
wanted my website to be more than just a place where fellow web travellers
could look at my photos, I hoped it could also be a useful resource where I
could share the information I have learned about the ocean environment and
the marine life I have been lucky enough to see.

I hope you will not only enjoy browsing my galleries but
find the information here interesting and informative.

The UnderwaterPhotography.com photo contest is the
longest running and most prestigious online, or off. If you want to make a
name for yourself it is THE place to do it. One of our medals is the reward
for all the hard work underwater photographers put in chasing those great
shots in far-flung destinations. It's the industry's most coveted prize
because it says you succeeded in the most competitive environment there is,
against the top talent of the moment.

2012/13 WORLD CHAMPION CHRISTIAN VIZL

This year's World Champion and breakout star is without
doubt Mexican u/w photographer Christian Vizl.

Christian only joined UnderwaterPhotography.com in March
2012 but has demonstrated consistently high quality over such a relatively
short period of time. He is the only u/w photographer in our history to
take Gold, Silver and Bronze in one year. He did this with three very
different model shots that he entered in the Freshwater category. This is a
good tactical move because it is a category that is under subscribed so
give you better odds of being placed. These shots were so good they would
have got medals in the Divers or Wide Angle categories. For good measure he
also won a gold medal in the sharks category and a bronze in the Wide angle
category.

Christian describes himself as a photographer and artist,
which is confirmed by his strong graphic sense exhibited in his
entries.

GRAND MASTER - NICK BLAKE

UK photographer and BSoUP Member Nick Blake becomes a Grand Master by building
on his success in previous year with five placings this year including a
Gold in temperate waters category and a silver in the Wide Angle Close
Focus. The latter was a tropical waters shot but we know Nick best for his
temperate waters work shot whilst diving around the UK. His usual
environment is therefore a difficult one to work in, yet he always delivers
the goods. See also Mail online

Our featured diving destination in Issue 27 is the busy
port and tourist hub of Eilat, where the diving is relaxed and underwater
photography opportunities are plentiful. Heading south from Eilat we
feature Angie Gullan's work with dolphins in southern Mozambique where she
merges eco-tourism with research and data collection. Sticking with the
dolphin theme we have Rainer Schimpf's images of a disabled killer whale in
Algoa Bay and the story behind the images.

Our conservation section celebrates World Turtle Day
activities in Mozambique led by Jess Williams of the Marine Megafauna
Foundation working with Eyes on the Horizon and All Out Africa.

Our featured photographer is Dave Caravias and we're sure
you'll enjoy his shark pictures as much as we do. There's a spread on the
Durban Undersea Club Shootout 2013 with cracking images taken from Cape
Town to Mozambique.

And finally, we review the Sharks and Rays DVD/App that
is a must for your desktop or Apple product or Android phone. If you're
interested in sharks and rays, this one is for you.

Wetpixel Editor Adam Hanlon has written
a review of Backscatter's Airlock vacuum housing integrity check system.
These, and similar devices from other brands, have been one of the most
hotly discussed accessories over the past few months on the wetpixel forum, with several active threads devoted to
them.

Adam says "Despite some proselytizing from some
individuals, no vacuum system by itself can guarantee that a housing will
not flood. In fact, there have been examples of the units themselves
causing floods! The attitude of saying that because a light is flashing, or
a unit is holding a pressure, the housing will not let water in is
misguided. Avoiding leaks still relies on rigorously following a standard
procedure with regard to o-ring maintenance and housing assembly. Once this
has been carried out, then a leak check system can verify the effectiveness
of the process."

Basking Sharks in CornwallA quick update
on the situation by Charles HoodThe water is unseasonably cold but the top
layer is warm so there is loads of plankton around, which has started to
bring the sharks in. We had a fantastic encounter on Saturday with a 4.5m
male, well over 2 hours! He was so intent on feeding that he was completely
oblivious to our presence and for some strange reason appeared to like
swimming around the RIB!
...
Other contacts are also reporting shark sightings as well. The forecast is
for plenty of sun so fingers crossed we will have larger numbers
immanently. I have spaces on a few odd days during the week in June are
still available - see http://charleshood.com/calendar for details.

Charles is a school Science teacher based in the middle
of England with a passion for UK diving and underwater photography. His
favourite locations are along the UK's South West coast, Western Scotland,
West Wales and the North East coast. His website exists to showcase some of
his favourite images and communicate some of the passion behind their
creation.

Charles regularly give talks about UK diving, the
challenges and excitement of underwater photography and dispelling the myth
that there is little of beauty or interest to see beneath the waters around
UK waters.